Soundstage - What is it?

[jlovda]

My definition of soundstage is; if you move your speakers farther apart the soundstage gets wider. I would really like to know what the definition is as used by various members here. I just read in another thread that one amp had a better soundstage than another. I'm scratching my head.

 

[lordgarth]

play a song you're very familiar with. If you can, compare ipod to cd, then compare cd to vinyl. I would think you'll hear more of the music as you go a/k/a soundstage. If this doesn't work send a PM for the best way to increase soundstage.

 

[cnolanh]

I'd say a soundstage is your system's attempt at reproducing the physical placement of instruments/sounds on an aural stage in front of you. Fine systems and fine recordings can reveal front-to-back imaging as well as left-to-right and up-and-down.

With acoustic recording this makes more obvious sense. With constructed electronic recording, though, a good engineer can place sounds around a soundstage as well.

 

[illinoisteve]

My definition of soundstage is; if you move your speakers farther apart the soundstage gets wider. I would really like to know what the definition is as used by various members here. I just read in another thread that one amp had a better soundstage than another. I'm scratching my head.

My sense of it has more to do with what another poster has said about you getting a clearer feel for where all the different parts of the music are coming from, or more of a sense of my being in the presence of the singers/instrumentalists. But when people talk about it like it's a piece of their audio equipment, I share the same level of confusion you have, like maybe I'm supposed to look for a soundstage at craigslist, thrift stores, and yard sales now, too. It's not like I can afford to get a new one. Criminy!

 

[leftside]

I'd say a soundstage is your system's attempt at reproducing the physical placement of instruments/sounds on an aural stage in front of you. Fine systems and fine recordings can reveal front-to-back imaging as well as left-to-right and up-and-down.

With acoustic recording this makes more obvious sense. With constructed electronic recording, though, a good engineer can place sounds around a soundstage as well.

That's what I always thought as well. If I'm in a darkened room and start to concentrate I can hear the instruments in different places in the room. A "classic" example is vocals at the front in the middle, drums also at the front and in the middle but further back, bass guitar to the left, lead guitar to the right.

I also get similar effects when listening through my headphones. Some instruments will feel they are located higher or lower.

I have to concentrate to start with, but it becomes easier to identify "where" the instruments are the longer I listen.

 

[damacman]

Wikipedia has a fairly good definition - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_stage

For me, I know my system's sound stage is pretty dialed when the speakers kind of disappear if you will. Then, you just listen to the music and pay little attention to anything else.

There are some songs that are better than others at showcasing one's system's capability in regards - try Fleetwood Mac's Gold Dust Woman for example. If this song leaves you thinking you've got better material in your libray, your sound stage needs work. On the other hand, if your jaw is on the floor when the song wraps up, then no further explanation is necessary.

 

[chef free]

I thought soundstage referred to how wide the sound seems, and imaging referred to the placement of different instruments.

 

[Beowulf62]

A stage has width, depth and height. A good soundstage provides an aural recreation of the acoustic venue of the original performance (concert hall, stadium, night club, space created in the recording studio with special effects, etc.) and a realistic experience of the performers/instruments within that space. The creation of the "soundstage" depends on the placement of microphones within the recording venue, the characteristics of the recording venue and the use of recording effects, e.g., reverb, etc. The soundstage of a large church differs from that of a small, intimate night club, or a concert hall, or a large stadium.

 

[c_dk]

Great question John. The Wilson Watt speakers are no slouches and when the width of their presentation expands from 2 feet outside their width to 5 feet, all the way to the side walls, well I call that a change to the soundstage. And don't forget depth, and height. And yes, just swaped in a updated preamp for a stock C38 in today's trial.

 

[dcmfan]

A stage has width, depth and height. A good soundstage provides an aural recreation of the acoustic venue of the original performance (concert hall, stadium, night club, space created in the recording studio with special effects, etc.) and a realistic experience of the performers/instruments within that space. The creation of the "soundstage" depends on the placement of microphones within the recording venue, the characteristics of the recording venue and the use of recording effects, e.g., reverb, etc. The soundstage of a large church differs from that of a small, intimate night club, or a concert hall, or a large stadium.

That's how I understand it. So do these guys FWIW:

http://www.stereophile.com/reference/50/

soundstaging, soundstage presentation The accuracy with which a reproducing system conveys audible information about the size, shape, and acoustical characteristics of the original recording space and the placement of the performers within it.

 

[jlovda]

Is the soundstage related to the dispersion of the individual drivers in a system? The time delay through the crossover? This also leads to the question, is the soundstage of a system the same for all types of music (classical, rock, etc.) or will it change?

 

[Beowulf62]

Is the soundstage related to the dispersion of the individual drivers in a system? The time delay through the crossover? This also leads to the question, is the soundstage of a system the same for all types of music (classical, rock, etc.) or will it change?

Yes, to both questions. Dispersion, time delay and listening room characteristics will all affect the perceived soundstage. The apparent soundstage of a system may change with different types of music due to variations in the spectral balance of the recording. For example, an "in your face" midrange emphasized recording of a rock band will present a different soundstage than a wide band classical recording (assuming the same recording venue, microphones, etc.) and this will depend on how the entire music reproduction system handles the midrange frequencies. Nevertheless, the "signature" of a particular system will tend to swamp the effect, unless the entire system is exceedingly neutral.

 

[miketuason]

To me, soundstage is how the music is represent as if you were watching a live music in front of the stage. A good soundstage is where you can pretty much pin point each instrument on the stage as if you were watching live concert and how deep or further back they go on the stage. But sometimes, even if you have the best system in the world and you're listening to a bad recording, you will not hear a good soundstage.

 

[twiiii]

There are 2 main components to producing a sound stage. First there is the system and second is the room and your relevant location to both. You can have a great system and a great room and if you aren't positioned correctly in relation to both you have struck out. If you have point source speakers and you sit to far away you are hearing more room than speaker, you'll get the impression you have great width, depth, and height, but what your listening to is false, an illusion. If you sit to close you almost can hear the individual drivers, and thats not good either. Some folks love big Co-axes like Tannoy and Altec. All you have to worry about is the distance from the speaker in relation to the quality of the room. I prefer line arrays, it allows me to sit further away from the speakers and yet not allow the room to over whelm the sound. With my system the image is wider than the array, and with newer electronic I'm not hearing 3 images but a continuous image from full left thru center to full right from two speakers. The depth has always been their and the height is really only conveyed when listening to true Stereo recordings and not multi-channel mono. Modern pop music. Some of my favorite recordings were made using a Stereo AKG MIC, Sheffield, or mine using 2 Neuman KM86 or U-87 stacked one on top of the other. Other favorites use 3 mics accross the stage, Mercury living Prescence and Telarc, London , etc. Command Classical records can be enthralling, to. Another issues is spectral balance. If your system is to bright the relation ship between the percusion and other instruments is all wrong. If the bass is two warm it masks the important lower midrange which conveys a lot of the spatial reverberation necessary for proper imaging. So having a MEN-220 can be a big help with a room. Odyssey in the MX121 can also help with proper implementation. Rooms are an issue you can spend you entire life learning to understand and get just right. But if you are blessed and you discover the right ratio of your speaker sound to the reverberant sound of the room in relation to your seating position, then width, depth and height are yours to enjoy.